Putting College Football On Notice

This is a message for college football programs across the country — consider yourself warned.

Virginia Tech's hiring of James Franklin is a shot across the bow of college football. The entirety of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the rest of the country, is now on notice.

For its entire existence, Virginia Tech has played small ball when it comes to finances. The Hokies have never led the way in fundraising or sponsorship dollars. Even after Frank Beamer and Michael Vick made Virginia Tech a nationally relevant brand, the Hokies have never been able to compete with the Alabamas, the Georgias, and the Ohio States on the balance sheet.

Until now.

The Board of Visitors' pledge of $229 million to support the athletic department leveled the playing field. That amount of money, which includes $47 million in FY2026 alone, put Virginia Tech among the elite athletic programs in terms of financial resources. It also made Virginia Tech an attractive place for an elite football coach — especially one that shouldn't have been available.

Penn State jumped the gun when they fired Franklin on Oct. 12 following an ugly loss to UCLA. The Nittany Lions dismissed a head coach that vaulted Penn State to national prominence after crippling sanctions nearly killed the football program. In case you hadn't heard, Franklin won nine or more games in seven of his 11-plus seasons as head coach. Franklin took them to six New Year's Six bowl games and won the Big Ten title in 2016. Last year, Penn State was a touchdown away from competing for a national championship.

In any sane world, a head coach with those credentials would be afforded a down season. We do not, however, live in a sane world, and Franklin's successes were quickly swept under the rug while he cleaned out his office.

Franklin shouldn't have been available, but he was. Virginia Tech pounced, identified Franklin as their top candidate, and locked him in before the 2025 season even ended.

That's a big boy move.

Schools like Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State, the kinds that Virginia Tech wants to compete with, would've made the same move. When you need a new head coach, you find the best candidate available and you do what it takes to get the deal done. You don't take no for an answer.

For all the issues with Virginia Tech's athletic department leadership, the search committee for the next head coach, as well as President Tim Sands, have earned incredible praise for getting Franklin signed.

Virginia Tech's new-found ability to play hardball, and willingness to spend, prove that the Hokies aren't fooling around anymore. All the excuses have been removed. The war chest is full and the checkbook is open. It's time to win.

Franklin is the exact hire you make when the time to win is now. He wasted little time at both Vanderbilt and Penn State, winning nine games in his second season in Nashville and 11 games in his third season in State College. 

Franklin checks just about every box — he's a winner, he's built coaching staffs that can recruit and develop, and he can ignite a fan base. When you think about it, there are few head coaches in the country as accomplished as Franklin.

If this column sounds like I'm bullish on the future of Virginia Tech football, it's because I am. Not only has the university committed to resourcing the program at an elite-level, but the power-brokers in Blacksburg just stole one of the best coaches in football away from one of the most accomplished programs in the country.

I've been saying for well over a year that Virginia Tech didn't have a resource problem, but instead a people problem. The expectation at Virginia Tech isn't to compete for national championships every year, but to compete for conference championships. You're telling me that Tech now has someone that's competed for and won a conference championship, and he now has more resources than any coach in the history of the school?

Yeah, sign me up.

I'm all in on James Franklin. Virginia Tech desperately needs a coach that can reverse the downward trend of the program, put the Hokies back on the map, and give a hungry, passionate fanbase the winner it so richly deserves.

The time has come. Virginia Tech has been bullied from coast-to-coast for far too long. To everyone in the ACC, and to college football programs across the country — consider yourself warned.